Recruitments

The Recruitments programme offers partial funding of professors, international visiting professors, senior lecturers and associate senior lecturers. The programme supports new recruitment of supplementary competence for prioritised areas of research and education, so called key individuals.

How Recruitments contributes to the development of Integrated Research and Education Environments (Kompletta miljöer):

Through support for recruitments, the Knowledge Foundation wishes to stimulate the development of Integrated Research and Education Environments, that have a balance between various staff categories and good integration between research and education. Mobility contributes to an increased influx of new methods, ideas, and perspectives that increase scientific quality, and the benefit for the business sector from research and education.

About the programme

Through its Recruitments programme, the Knowledge Foundation wishes to create conditions for university establishment of profiled research and education environments by means of recruiting key individuals. The programme is of interest to environments that have a strong connection to the business sector and are used to working strategically with the Knowledge Foundation programme portfolio. It should also be regarded as an opportunity for these environments to channel resources from external parties, gathering them into one position.

The objective of an assistant professor, lecturer, and professor is to strengthen the capacity for research and education over the long term in co-production with the business sector. The programme also aims to contribute to the renewal of research and education. The objective of an international visiting professor is to broaden the international network of contacts and collaboration, both for the university and for the business sector. Through an international visiting professor, the university can construct strategic, long-term collaboration with the visiting professor’s home institution.

The programme’s contribution to the university’s development

The forms of employment offered within the call for proposals is of strategic importance for increasing the capacity at the senior level, or to ensure the long-term establishment of the environment through the recruitment of younger researchers. In programme evaluations, we see that these recruitments have contributed significantly to development and profiling of research and educational environments at the universities. The position of international visiting professor is a limited, but focused venture that has proven able to provide the university with valuable perspectives and knowledge. Ventures at the individual level serve as an important platform for long-term collaboration.

The programme’s contribution to business sector development

In feedback from previous projects, the Knowledge Foundation sees that the benefit to the business sector from a recruitment is broader than the particular individual. The business sector has demonstrated long-term commitment to the environments in question. Several projects, and people working on problems relevant to the business sector in both research and education, revolve around the recruitments. Companies contributing to a professorship is obviously also a good way for the business sector to feed into their development ambitions. Through recruiting outstanding researchers, such as an international visiting professor, the business sector can also be part of building knowledge and competence in an area that is central to their operations.

Programme design

The programme enables the recruitment of

Fellowships – professor/senior lecturer level

Fellow with academic placement

Fellow with business placement

Associate senior lecturers

Senior lectures

Professors

International visiting professors

International visiting professors are identified at the time of application. As for the others, the position will be openly announced after the grant.

The project must be conducted by one of Sweden’s new universities and run for two to four years for associate senior lecturers, senior lecturers, or professors, and from three months to one year for international visiting professors. For associate senior lecturers, senior lecturers, and professors, the Knowledge Foundation will fund half the position. The remaining half will be financed by the university and/ or the business sector for associate senior lecturers, senior lecturers, and by the business sector for professors. For an international visiting professor, the Knowledge Foundation will contribute the bulk of the costs for the position; in addition, the university will fund a smaller portion. Support in the form of involvement must always be available from universities and the business sector.

Who can apply, and how it works

• Sweden’s university colleges and new universities may apply.
• Recruitment always requires involvement from the university and the business sector. The university and/or the business sector must also partially provide funding for the recruitment.
• Calls for proposals are issued annually, in spring. Applications must be registered via the Ansök & rapportera portal.